
SEO can be broadly classified into two categories:
- On-Page SEO: This involves optimizing elements such as title tags, meta tags, site architecture, and content to make them more easily understandable and indexable by search engines.
- Link Building: This category involves acquiring backlinks from other websites to your site. Link building can be challenging but potentially deliver significant traffic gains.
In this post, we will focus on the second category, specifically the art of link prospecting, which is crucial for success in link building. While link-building may be difficult, a well-executed link-building prospecting strategy can significantly increase your chances of success. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the world of link prospecting!
Google Search Hacks: How to Use Advanced Operators
Google is one of the most effective places to conduct link building prospecting. Through this process, you can uncover a wealth of link-building opportunities and gain valuable insights into your business landscape. For online marketers, link prospecting is an essential activity that requires a hands-on approach.
With the help of special Google search operators, you can expedite the process of discovering promising link prospects. Some of the most frequently used advanced search operators for link prospecting include:
- “inurl”
- “intitle”
- “site”
Using the “inurl” search operator, you can quickly locate websites containing a specific keyword within their URLs. For instance, a search query such as “inurl: SEO” will generate results for any webpage containing the term “SEO” in its URL, irrespective of whether it’s a homepage, a blog post, or an indexed category.
The “title” search operator enables you to discover web pages that contain specific terms within their titles. This search operator can also assist you in identifying topical pages that are useful for broadening your list of potential keywords.
The primary purpose of the “site” search operator is to help you narrow down your search results to a particular website or domain. In addition, this search operator is often used to specify the type of organization you are searching for.
The advanced search operators mentioned above are handy for finding high-quality link opportunities from trustworthy websites. In addition, they can be utilized for various purposes such as scholarship link building (site:.edu “scholarship”), broken link building (site:.edu “keyword”), and partnering with professional organizations (site:.org “partners”).
If you are targeting specific countries, the site’s advanced search operator can assist you in locating websites with targeted TLDs (top-level domains).
Upgrading Your Link Profile with New Backlinks
Reverse engineering is a powerful technique that gathers information from competitors, regardless of whether they offer the same products or content. As a link builder, it’s essential to understand your competitors’ new backlinks and link-building strategies.
By having this knowledge, you can gain valuable insights into the following areas:
- Your competitors have published recent external web assets, such as guest posts and visual content.
- Mentions of your competitors, with links back to their sites, can help identify new bloggers in your industry who write product reviews or reference brands.
- The link strategies your competitors have recently implemented are based on the kinds of new links they have built. For example, if you see a lot of .edu scholarship pages, you can assume they are using scholarship link-building tactics.
By analysing your competitors’ new backlinks, you can generate a new list of link prospects and identify new link-building tactics that you can replicate for your website. Incorporating this process into your link-building strategy can help you stay ahead of the competition and improve your website’s search engine rankings.
The Importance of Link Relevance and Quality in Effective Prospecting
To excel in link-building prospecting, it’s crucial to deeply understand your brand’s audience and determine effective ways to reach them. Your list of link targets should then be assessed based on metrics such as estimated organic traffic and engagement, ensuring relevance and quality. While this may seem daunting, seeking the assistance of experts can simplify the process and yield successful outcomes. Check out our monthly SEO package for further support.